Midwifery & childbirth, family

Archive for March, 2011

Nearly two years ago I had a wobbly front tooth courtesy of a toddler accidentally head-butting me. My dentist braced it, with cement, to it’s neighbouring teeth which worked well initially but has given me problems, brace breaking, infection, everything you would imagine with a tooth which wants to come out. For the last few months I’ve become super conscious of it being discoloured and in the wrong position and less tolerant of the discomfort it causes and how cautious I have to be about how and what I eat. Dentist and I made the decision two weeks ago, it would be better out than in. At the time we planned it, and until yesterday, I’ve been blase about it but yesterday the reality hit and the anxiety started. A front tooth, that’s a major vanity thing. Supposing the false one doesn’t fit, or looks odd, too big/small, wrong colour. By the time I was walking to the dentist this morning I was quivering, snivelling and very close to wimping out, I have to say that I am not usually nervous of the dentist, that changed.

Well, mission accomplished. I am now the possessor of a beautiful, new tooth. Me and my tooth, Blanche, are very happy with each other. The lead up to the old tooth making room for Blanche was worse than I had envisaged, needles and me are not a good match and I have to say that needles in front gums are high on my worse experience ever list but that’s over now and, like childbirth, it was a means to an end and well worth it.

This is a major chance for us to show our opposition to cuts to healthcare services for women and the newborn. Please join us and bring your colleagues, friends, families and supporters in your community.

We hear from the TUC that over 60,000 people are planning to attend. This will be the largest demonstration for many years. It is important that midwives are seen and heard with other public sector workers.

And…..relax. I’ve been a busy, not so little, person for a couple of weeks now. The occasional fine days have found me in my favourite habitat, the garden, where I’ve been pruning, weeding and preparing my vegetable patch.

Actually, I’m now sitting here watching Comic Relief and the segment that was just on has reduced me to tears, to be honest quite a few bits have filled me with huge sadness. David Tennant (Dr Who) is at a hospital which overflowing with small children who are so, so poorly with malaria, dying from Malaria. That is unimaginable, horrific and something that really, really shouldn’t happen, children, adults dying from malaria. A malaria net costs £5.

Anyway, back to my trivia. Gardening, so therapeutic especially when 5 of the grandchildren have been staying! All went well until Izzy woke at 5.10am and was unable to talk quietly, that ensured that she woke Amy up and that meant that Nanny couldn’t get back to sleep. Grrrr. The week was starting badly! Then there was baby-sitting for the 2 youngest sproglets and discovering that Joshua, usually Mr Smiley, is capable of terrifying Nanny by screaming continuously and ear-splittingly as if he has some mortal injury. A mandatory study day tested my sleep-deprived brain, thankfully all the latex mannikins made it through the day, and I achieved the required signature to prove that I had attended. I was also ‘Supervised’ and was passed safe for yet another year, mixed emotions on that one as I would love to retire (note to self, blog about how over the last 3 years my retirement age has risen by 6 years).

Back to Comic Relief. A premature baby and his Mother died, makes my whining about UK midwifery and the maternity services seem truly pathetic.

There was a highlight which contributed to my recent lack of sleep, a reunion with 2 of the women I did my nurse training with 35 years ago. The amazing bit was that we were the same people and, even though we haven’t seen each other for 25 years, we still get on and enjoy each other’s company. The alcohol may have helped.

Lack of sleep. Hmmm. One night minus sleep was caused by 3 unsocial urchins, possibly worse the wear for drink, talking and laughing loudly as they rambled along the pavement, breaking the electronic gate of the unoccupied house next door and attempting to rip the house number, made with my own hands, off our gate post. Once the adrenaline is surging, sleep retreats.

So, tomorrow is Saturday. The plan is a lie-in, a long lie-in, then the action starts as we will be 18 for lunch on Sunday, yes it’s a meeting of the Midwifemuse clan plus a nephew, his wife and their little boy. Cook the gammon and the beef, make my salmon flan, the fruit brulee and marinade the chicken, then, if the weather forecast is right, out into the garden to continue with my horticultural spring clean.

I was so silly at work today, but it’s okay because my manager realises that it was just a mistake and, as she said, we all make mistakes.

It all started when I put Hubby’s air rifle in the car. What? You took a gun to work with you? Why? Well, you know how it is. I was just about to leave for work when I noticed the rifle on top of the wall cupboard and thought ‘gosh, we haven’t used that in a while’ so I got it down to just have a look at it. As I pulled it down the tin of pellets fell down and when I retrieved them I thought I would just see if I could remember how to load the rifle. No problem there, it was just like riding a bike, you never forget once you’ve learned. Well, by then I was running late so I rushed out to the car, forgetting that I had the rifle caught up with my work bags, and that’s how I ended up taking the gun to work with me.

That was only the start of my woes though. I got to work, parked and reached back into the car, grabbed my bags and accidentally picked up the gun. I was halfway across the car park before I realised what I done, thought about turning back and putting it in the boot but I was already late, and my student was waiting for me, so I just carried on into the office. What a laugh! Everyone went silent when I walked in touting my weapon so I thought I would have a bit of fun, ‘yeah, hands up colleagues’ I roared as I hoisted up the rifle and took aim, my finger hesitated, and then I pulled the trigger. I was so surprised when my student squealed, then I realised that the safety hadn’t been on and she had been hit by the pellet I had loaded earlier.

The student was a bit shocked, we’ve given her a couple of days off until the minor wound has stopped oozing and my colleagues were just great and knew that I was only mucking around and would never have deliberately shot anyone. It could happen to anyone and the student was just unlucky to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. I won’t make that mistake again and I did say sorry to her, I am the consummate professional.